Granular detergent dispenser



June 2, 1964 M. E. ANDERsoN GRANULAR DETERGENT DISPENSER 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed NOV. 7, 1960 INVENTOR. MA1/NA@ E Anwesen June 2, 1964 M. E. ANDERSON 3,135,429

GRANULAR DETERGENT DISPENSER Filed Nov. fr, 1960 2 sheets-sheet 2 :ELE- E 96a' Mamma t. A/vofsm 14 TTOR/VEVJ Maynard E. Anderson,

i construction and arrangement.

y corresponding parts in the several .views.

United States Patent Otllice 3,135,429 Y GRANULAR DETERGENT DISPENSER Detroit, Mich., assignor to American Radiator & Standard VSanitary Corporation,

New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 67,708 3 Claims. -t (Cl. 222-161) This inventionrelates to granular material dispensers,

as for example dispensers for discharging granular detergent in `domestic automatic clothes washing machines.

Within the broader aspects of the invention the dispensers of this invention can be utilized for dispensing Various This application is a con- 7.39,824 filed June 4, 1958, now abandoned.

"f VIn the automatic dispensing ofl granular detergents 'within' washing machines, under conventional e practice Asome difficulties have been encountered "due tothe fact thatvthe discharged granules tend toclog the conventional f apparatus so as tovform accumulations on the dispenser 'casing surfaces and seriously `limit the service litre of the dispenser.

' One objectvof the present invention is to provide a` granular `material dispenser so designed as to have a Alessened tendency to clog the dispenser parts.

Another object' is toprovide a dispenser which can be operated to discharge accurately regulated quantities of granular materials.

yA further object `is tov provide a granular material disi penser having a relatively long service'life.

A further object of the invention isto` provide an au- 2 omaticV washing machine with aV no vel detergent dispenser An additional object is'to provide a washing machine vwith anovel `detergent dispenser arrangement nhavinga `relatively large detergent capacity.

Another object of the invention is to provide ,a dispenser which has a vibratory action for conveying the VHgranular material upwardly on an inclined ramp, the dis- V.penser constructionV being characterized inthat vibrations a granular material dispenser which can be manufactured at relatively low cost, thereby permittingitto be utilized in` domestic clothes Washing machines withoutA materially y adding to the cost of the machine..

A still further object of the invention is to provide a Y washing machine and detergent dispenser wherein the` housewife can veryeasily load the dispenser at periodicUv intervals( Other objects of this invention will appearin thehfollowingl description and appended claims, reference being had `to the accompanying drawings lforming a part of this specification ywherein like reference characters designate In the drawings: p.

FIG. 2 is `a front elevational view of theFIG. lrmechanism,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view ofthe FIG. vl dispenser, with parts thereof shown insection of illustra- 'tive purposes, y

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a component utilizedin the FIGS dispenser, i i FIG. 5 is a sectional View on line 5 -5 in FIG. 4, Y FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating the construction of a dispenser container which can be employed as an alternate to the container shown in FIG. 3, V FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration ofa path of 4mption which can be utilized to operate the FIG. 3 dispenser, and Y FIG. 8 is a diagram of an electric circuit which can be employed to program the FIG. 3 dispenser. A i

Before explaining the ypresent invention ,in detail, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of `other embodiments and of being practised or carried out in various ways: Also, itis to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description` and not of limitation. V f

lReferring to the drawings, and particularly FIGS. l and 2', thereisy v,shown therein a clothes washing machine 10 havinga top Wall 12, front Wall 14, back'wall 16, and two sidewalls 18 and 20. Centrally disposed within the washing machine casings is a conventional tub v22 adapted to receive the wash load through an opening nor'- mallyclosed by hinged closure-24j.

In the corner delined by Awalls 14'and ZOthere-is disposed a granular detergentdispen'ser V26, which comprises `an upright'- tubular container 28 having a spiral ramp 3,9

lwhich is` normally closedby a hinged closure 36. By this arrangementA the housewise can easily load ,the dispenser at* periodic intervals merelyf by opening the access closure 36 `and pouring the granularmaterial :into container 28. j w ,f The illustrated dispenser is preferably programmed automatically to dispense variouspreselected quantities of detergent into thewashing machinetub in accordance with "the character of` the wash load. `Various electrical con- ;trol circuits and devies vcanbe utilized to'providefor the automatic programming f theidispenser. The main com- 50 zponents of one suitable type of control circuit are diagrammatically shownfin FIG. 8. In general the control may be set for operation by manual actuation of various push button switches at the beginning of the Wash cycle. With theillustrated arrangement each of the push button switches is Vin a circuit' which isV :controlled by la timerdriven cam so that the "circuitfbecomes energized at a" predetermined time and forapredetermined time period. The variousf push button circuitsare 'connected i f in parallel to Aa motnwhich forms part f the power f means 32 so thatY the power 'means can be operated for predeterminedtime periods `tocause a dispensing-of vari `ous predetermined amounts of detergent from container 28. As shownin FIG. 1; the container is` provided with a discharge spout 38 `for discharging the Vdetergent granules i into the washing machine tub; 22. l'

Refrring now to FIGS. 3 and 5, `the dispenser lcon- `Patented* June 2, 1,964

Vby means of a compression spring 89.

without stretching axially).

struction'there shown comprises a fixed base 40 having a foot section 42, two parallel upstanding walls 44 and 46, and a generally horizontal top wall 48. Rotatably disposed between walls 44 and 46 is a shaft 50 having a cam 52 rigidly secured thereon, as by means of a set-screw (not shown). As best shown in FIG. 3, the cam is defined with the gear-forming extension 54, the teeth of which mesh with the teeth of the pinion gear 56 carried on the shaft 58 of an electrically-energized drive unit 60. Within the broader aspects ofthe invention the speed of shaft S8 may be set at Various different values; however best operation appears to result when the shaft speed is setbelow 800 r.p.m. It will be understood that by the provision of unit 60 and gear 56, the cam 52 is driven at a predetermined rotary speed.

Encircling theV cam 52 is a cam follower 64 having the fourinternal surfaces 66,168, 70 and '72,formed thereon. The illustrated cam is a three lobed cam, with all of the lobes spaced the same distance from the axis ofthe mounting shaft-50 so that each rotation of shaft 50 is effective to move the cam follower 64 through three complete reciprocations. Y

The space between faces 66 and 70 is substantially the same as the diametric'al distance across the cam so that the cam follower is prevented from leaving the cam surface at any time` during cam rotation, even when the cam drive unit is set to operate the cam `at relatively high speeds. The cam-follower contact is further maintained The spacing between follower surfaces 68 and 72vis somewhat greater than the diametrical distance across the cam for the purpose of permitting the follower to enjoy a bodily twisting or rotary motion around the vertical axis defined by the two shaft portions 74 and 76. This vertical twisting or rotary motion is of advantage in effecting a desired movement of the granule particlesy vwithin dispenser container 28 as will befexplained hereinafter. The shaft portions 74 and 76 of course serve to guide the cam follower and container .2S .in their vertical movements.

The dispenser container 28 is in the FIG. 3 embodiment formed to include a bottom wall 78 suitably secured to` the afore-mentioned follower 64,v as byrneans of the rivets 80 and wall-carried bracket 82. Fixedly disposed on the Asshown in FIG. the superjacent kbracket 82 is formed with three tabs 88 which are offset circumferentially with respect to the tabs 86. Circumferentially extending links 98 in the form Vof wire coils are trained between adjacent ones of tabs 86 and 88 so as to take positions at about forty-tive degree angles with respect tothe horizontal. The links 90, although in appearance are similar to coil springs, are not springs and do not stretch along their lon.- gitudinal axes.` If desired the wire coil type links Vcould be replaced by rigid bars since the links 90 do not extend i degrees, and each upstanding wall 98 is co-extensive in length withfthe corresponding ramp wall so that when the a various sub-assemblies 9.2 are stacked on one another there is formed a continuous spiral ramp 30 and a continuous upstanding rim, (at 98) along the ramp inner edge. Each wall 98 is of lesser vertical extent than the vertical distance between the various ramp walls 96 so that a free space lltl is formed above each ramp wall 98. By this arrangement the ramps are continuously supplied with granular material irrespective of the extent of filling of container 28.

It will be understood that in the manufacture of the FIG. 3 container the various sub-assemblies 92 may be stacked on one another to any desired extent so as to provide a container' 28 of desired height and capacity for a particular installation. The containers must of course be orientated with respect to one another. so that the ramp sections align together in the desired manner to thus form a continuous ramp surface. Each of the sub-assemblies 92 can be formed economically as a single plastic molding to reduce construction costs. The various sub-assemblies can be securedto'gether by various means, as for example vertical tie rods, clamps, clips', or the like.

The upperfend of container 28 may be equipped with a discharge spout 38, which in the illustrated embodiment takes the form of an arcuate wallltl conforming to the and retract during operation of dispenser, The advantagev I by merely extending screws throughy the tabs and into. lockingV engagement withend portions of the wire coils.- During operation of the`l dispenser the kwire coil Alinks'are free toarc or bend'slightly in longitudinal directions (but The manner of formation ofthe dispenser container 28 may be varied, but as shown in FIG. 3 the container may be formed by a series of identical'stacked-together subas-1 semblies 92, a representative one of which is shown in FIG. 4. Each sub assembly comprises a tubular outer shape of wall 92 and having a spout-forming extension 102 formed thereon. As shown in FIG. 3, thev spout-forming extension is provided withfa bottom wall 104 which extends throughv an opening suitably formed in the upper one of walls 92 and underneath the upper terminus of ramp 30. Bands lll'can be used to yeconorrn'cally mount the spout-forming member onto the dispenser container.

By the described arrangement the yspout may receive the granular material and convey same into the washing ma- -chine tub.. Inthe illustrated embodiment the discharge spout'feeds directly to the washing machine tub, although it will be understood that the spout could feed into a fuunel or the like, with wash water being pumped into the funnel to mix with the granules prior to their introduction into thev tub. In such case the funnel would be provided with a tube for feeding the detergent'solution into the tub.

It will be noted the yupper end of container 2.8 is provided with a central opening within walls 98 which registers with thesopening normally closed by closure 36. By this arrangement the housewifemayload the dispenser with granular `detergent through the central opening so as to fill container 28, either fully or partially. During the filling operationthe granular material overflows from the central'column at 98 out through the openings 103 onto ramp walls 96 so'that theentire container volume may be supplied with granular material.

Preferably the` speed of oscillation of the unit is such as to provide a very rapid discharge of'granular material from container 28, and thus theoperation of the dispenser is not materially affected bya'partial loading of container 28. Thus, if the dispenser is partially loaded with granules the dispenser d rive unit may be operated from a manual switchl on the washing machine casing for a short f'length of time, as` for example one minute,to bring the granules up to thedischa'rgel spout 38. When" the upper portions ofthe ramp yare coated with granules the dispenser may be. operated automatically bythe washing machine since the design of the dispenser is such that granules are conveyed from the kcontainer bottom to the container During operation of the dispenser, unit 60 is energized to drive cam 52 with arrotary motion around the axis upstanding wall 98 extending upwardly lfrom wall 96. v

Each ramp wall 96 spirals around .within the tubular wall 92 for a circumferentialdistance of three hundred sixty of shaft 50. As the cam proceeds through its rotary path the variouslobes thereon Vengage surface' 66 of the follower 64, so that the follower is driven upwardly. By this motion thefcontainer 28 is given an upward component of motion as well as a 'rotary component of motion.

wardly the links 90 are required to change their angular positions with respect to the horizontal. Thus, as the bracket 82 is powered upwardly its point of connection with each link 90 travels upwardly, but because the link arms are of a fixed length the connection point must rotateto a certain extent in order to maintain a fixed distance between the various tabs 86 and 88. The action is such as to give the container 28 a combined vertical and rotary motion.

As the cam lobe moves downwardly away from follower surface 66 another one of the cam lobes moves into engagement with cam follower surface 70 so that the cam follower is drawn downwardly by cam action. During this downward movement the links 90 return to their original positions so that the container 2S is rotated in a reverse direction back to its initial position. Thus it will be seen that during cam rotation the container 28 is given an oscillation, both vertically and rotationally.

The vertical-rotational oscillation of container 28 causes the granular particles on ramp 96 to be advanced upwardly along the ramp 30, the action being best visualized by reference to schematic FIG. 7. In FIG. 7 the various positions of the ramp are indicated by the four numerals 30a, 30b, 30C, and 30d, and the direction of oscillation of the ramp by numeral 97. As the ramp is moved from position 30a to position 30h an illustrative granule 93 is bumped upwardly off of the ramp surface so that when the ramp moves downwardly toward the position 30d a different portion thereof will register with the granule. As the granule then drops onto the ramp surface it is displaced forwardly relative to its initial position. In this manner the oscillating movement of the ramp causes the granules to be advanced upwardly along the ramp surfaces.

Referring again to FIG. 3 when the granules are initially loaded into the dispenser the lower portion of the dispenser will of course be completely filled with granules. The upper portion may or may not be completely filled. As the dispenser is operated the upper ramp sections will tend to have a predetermined maximum amount of granules disposed thereon due to the action of spaces 103 (above the various walls 98). In this connection, excess material from the ramp 30 tends to be driven or fall into the central space within walls 98 so as to be precluded from being discharged from spout 38. Thus, the openings 103 serve two functions, namely as openings for distributing the granules onto portions of the ramps y during the loading operation, and as overflow devices for limiting the quantities of granules discharged through the spout 38. The exact quantity of granules discharged in each cycle is of course determined by the length of time of energization of unit 60. With respect to the quantity of granules being dispensed it will be noted that the quantity is substantially uneffected by the amount of material at any one time contained within container 2S since the openings 103 set an upper limit on the amount of material which can be discharged per unit time.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show one way in which the dispenser container can be formed. Another manner of forming the container is shown in illustrative FIG. 6. As there shown, the dispenser container can be formed by an outer tube 92a, an inner tube 98a, and an inclined ramp 96a. In this case the inner tube and outer tube may be formed separately from one another, and the spiral ramp 96a formed integrally with one or the other of the tubes or separately therefrom. The various components can be suitably secured to one another after their formation.

As will be seen from FIG. 6 the previously discussed overflow-charging openings need not be formed as a continuous opening 103. Thus, the overow-charging function can be provided by a series of separate individual openings 103a. They function in the same manner as the space 103 previously described. The FIG. 6 container construction can be powered by the same devices as are shown in FIG. 3.

. Y 6 Control or programming ofthe dispenser may be aifected by any suitable control circuitry. However, as shown in illustrative FIG. 8 the control may include two timer-driven cams and 112 having different length operational surfaces 113 thereon registeringwith the trip arms of separate electrical switches 114 and 116.. These switches maybe connected in parallel with one another and in series with manual push-button switches 118 suitably mounted on the console portion of the washing machine. These switches are suitably connected to the dispenser motor unit 60 so that when the machine is started by actuation of a switch 119 a selected one of the timer-driven cams will cause the dispenser motor to be operated at a predetermined time and to remain in operation for a predetermined length of time (depending on which of the electric switches 114 or 116 is energized). The length of operation of motor 60 determines the amount of material dispensed into the washing machine tub.

From the above description it will be seen that the illustrated mechanisms are operative to accomplish the objects previous set forth. It will be understood that various modifications and rearrangements could be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A vibratory dispenser for storing, conveying and metering granular material comprising a base; a vessel for storing granular material mounted on the base for vertical and pivotal movement; an upwardly inclined spiral ramp within the vessel to carry granular material stored therein; drive means to impart vertical and pivotal movement to the vessel comprising a cam follower secured to the vessel and pivotally mounted in the base; a power driven multi-lobe cam separately mounted and operatively engaged with the follower to drive the follower vertically while permitting hunting pivoting of the follower and vessel; said cam follower having a pair of cam engaging surfaces; one of said cam engaging surfaces being positioned above the cam and the other of said cam engaging surfaces being positioned below the cam; each of said cam engaging surface being in contact with the cam at all times whereby to prevent cam chatter; said cam lobes alternately engaging the upper cam engaging surface and the lower cam engaging surface to drive the cam follower and attached vessel alternately upwardly and downwardly; and connecting means between the base and vessel causing pivoting of the vessel upon vertical movement thereof; said vertical and pivotal movement of the vessel sequentially moving the ramp in a diagonally upward and forward direction and a diagonally downi ward and rearward direction whereby granular material carried on the ramp will be conveyed upwardly on the ramp towards the upper end of the vessel; and an outlet opening in the upper end of the vessel adjacent the upper end of the ramp to dispense granular material from the vessel.

2. A vibratory dispenser for storing, conveying and metering granular material comprising a base; a vessel for storing granular material mounted on the base for vertical and pivotal movement; an upwardly inclined spiral ramp within the vessel to carry granular material stored therein; drive means to impart vertical and pivotal movement to the vessel comprising a cam follower secured to the vessel and pivotally mounted in the base; a power driven cam separately mounted and operatively engaged with the follower to drive the follower vertically while permitting limited pivoting of the follower and vessel; resilient means interposed between'the base and the vessel for resiliently supporting the vessel; and connecting means between the base and vessel causing pivoting of the vessel upon vertical movement thereof; said vertical and pivotal movement of the vessel sequentially moving the ramp in a diagonally upward and forward direction and a diagonally downward and rearward direction 3,135,429 Y 8 whereby granular material carried on the ramp will be the base and to the vessel and being relatively rigid in the conveyed upwardly on the ramp towards the upper end direction of their longitudinal axes. of the vessel; and an outlet opening in the upper end of the Vessel adjacent the upper end of the ramp to dispense References Clted m the me of 'thls patent UNITED STATES PATENTS granular material from the vessel. 5

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 and further Charac- Re. 22,904 Carrier Aug. 12, 1947 terized in that said connecting means comprises a series 2,535,050 Devel Dec. 26, 1950 of linksextending between the base and Vessel at angles 2,688,807 Ginther Sept. 14, 1954 to the horizontal; said linksbeing pivotally connected toY 2,759,366 Reid Aug. 21, 1956 

1. A VIBRATORY DISPENSER FOR STORING, CONVEYING AND METERING GRANULAR MATERIAL COMPRISING A BASE; A VESSEL FOR STORING GRANULAR MATERIAL MOUNTED ON THE BASE FOR VERTICAL AND PIVOTAL MOVEMENT; AN UPWARDLY INCLINED SPIRAL RAMP WITHIN THE VESSEL TO CARRY GRANULAR MATERIAL STORED THEREIN; DRIVE MEANS TO IMPART VERTICAL AND PIVOTAL MOVEMENT TO THE VESSEL COMPRISING A CAM FOLLOWER SECURED TO THE VESSEL AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN THE BASE; A POWER DRIVEN MULTI-LOBE CAM SEPARATELY MOUNTED AND OPERATIVELY ENGAGED WITH THE FOLLOWER TO DIVE THE FOLLOWER VERTICALLY WHILE PERMITTING LIMITING PIVOTING OF THE FOLLOWER AND VESSEL; SAID CAM FOLLOWER HAVING A PAIR OF CAM ENGAGING SURFACES; ONE OF SAID CAM ENGAGING SURFACES BEING POSITIONED ABOVE THE CAM AND THE OTHER OF SAID CAM ENGAGING SURFACES BEING POSITIONED BELOW THE CAM; EACH OF SAID CAM ENGAGING SURFACE BEING IN CONTACT WITH THE CAM AT ALL TIMES WHEREBY TO PREVENT CAM CHATTER; SAID CAM LOBES ALTERNATELY ENGAGING THE UPPER CAM ENGAGING SURFACE AND THE LOWER CAM ENGAGING SURFACE TO DRIVE THE CAM FOLLOWER AND ATTACHED VESSEL ALTERNATELY UPWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY; AND CONNECTING MEANS BETWEEN THE BASE AND VESSEL CAUSING PIVOTING OF THE VESSEL UPON VERTICAL MOVEMENT THEREOF; SAID VERTICAL AND PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE VESSEL SEQUENTIALLY MOVING THE RAMP IN A DIAGONALLY UPWARD AND FORWARD DIRECTION AND A DIAGONALLY DOWNWARD AND REARWARD DIRECTION WHEREBY GRANULAR MATERIAL CARRIED ON THE RAMP WILL BE CONVEYED UPWARDLY ON THE RAMP TOWARDS THE UPPER END OF THE VESSEL; AND AN OUTLET OPENING IN THE UPPER END OF THE VESSEL ADJACENT THE UPPER END OF THE RAMP TO DISPENSE GRANULAR MATERIAL FROM THE VESSEL. 